Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

TGIF ~ we have finally made it to the weekend!! Is it me or was this one long week?? Perhaps for you St. Patty Day revelers, today felt like a week :-)

Southwestern Ontario is experiencing some amazing Spring weather! Our snow is almost gone and there are green shoots poking up all over my flower beds. Unfortunately, melting snow also equals a very muddy backyard, which my dogs love.

The dogs played and played and when I saw them waiting to be let in at the back door, I almost died!! Straight to the bathtub we went. My pictures don't even show half the mud that went down our drain tonight, but taking photos and keeping the dog from jumping out of the tub was no easy task!!

Yes, that is mud spatters all over Hank's face...and everywhere else for that matter!

We now have a very muddy track along one side of our fence where the dogs run with our neighbours' dogs - it's quite an attractive sight <sigh>.

I had an entirely different dinner planned for tonight, but by the time I got home and got this mess all cleaned up it was getting late and I was getting hungry, so I opted for a quick and easy dinner I had come across on Oh She Glows.  

This recipe is quick and easy and tastes very similar to pizza! Have I mentioned how much I love pizza??? Pizza is not allowed on a cleanse (which I might add is finished - yahoo!).

Portobello Mushroom Pizza with a Cashew Basil Cheeze Sauce

Adapted slightly from Oh She Glows. I only had 3 mushrooms, so I cut the original recipe down to accommodate my ingredients. I also started the cheese sauce before I actually read Angela's directions, so mine is a little different than hers. Check the link above to see how she did hers.

Cashew Basil Cheeze Sauce

1/3 c raw cashews

pinch of sea salt

1/4 tsp olive oil

1/4 tsp chopped garlic

1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 tbsp water

1/2 fresh basil leaf

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.

Pizzas

3 large portobello mushroom caps, cleaned and stems removed

6 tbsp pizza sauce

4.5 tbsp cashew basil cheeze sauce

1/4 each red pepper and orange pepper, finely diced

1 small onion (the size of shallot would be perfect), finely diced

2 basil leaves, finely chopped

pinch of nutritional yeast

pinch of spicy Mrs. Dash

Turn your oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place your mushroom caps on the baking sheet.

Spread 2 tbsp of pizza sauce on each mushroom cap. Follow with 1.5 tbsp of the cashew basil cheeze sauce. I chopped all of my veggies up together in a mini food processor. They were diced very fine, but you could leave them a little chunkier if you want.

Spread the diced veggie mixture on each of the mushroom caps. I used all of the veggie mixture and split it equally between the 3 caps. Top each mushroom pizza with a pinch of nutritional yeast (you could substitute parmesan cheese) and spicy Mrs. Dash.

Place the pizzas under the broiler for approximately 8 minutes. Keep an eye until the mushrooms are soft and the toppings start to lightly brown because our broilers may differ slightly.

Before baking.

After baking.

Let the pizzas sit for 3 - 5 minutes and then serve and enjoy.

Scrumptious!!

These pizzas were delicious. Did you notice that they are vegan (sans parmesan cheese of course)?? I am definitely going to make these as an appetizer next time we have people over to visit. I always like to wow our friends & family with amazingly delish vegan dishes.

I hope you have wonderful Friday evening!! Tomorrow I am off to the gym for a meeting with a trainer about weights ~ yikes! I figure if I am going to use them, I might as well make sure that I'm using them right :-)

What's your favourite pizza topping?

Do you have a favourite vegan appetizer you like to wow your friends with?

Cheers to a wonderful evening!

Andrea